Gender, Race, and the Archives of 19th-Century Minstrelsy and Vaudeville

The Authority File

This week Dr. Cheryl Thompson, Associate Professor in Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University, continues the discussion of her book, Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812-1897. First, she walks through the gaps she encountered in the literature on 19th-century minstrelsy and vaudeville. Finding that much of the canon neglected the 1860s-90s as women began to enter the stage, Cheryl also discovered that texts on this period often portrayed Black women actors and dancers in terms of resistance and exclusion. She explains how she wanted to move beyond these two views, instead focusing on how these women expressed their own agency and found success on the stage. In addition, Cheryl describes the types of archives she used when researching the book—newspapers, playbills, lithographic prints—and digs into the surprising and sometimes frustrating responses she received from librarians and archivists when looking through these materials.

Missed an episode? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Choice Podcast Updates, and check out the Authority File Round-Up on our blog, Open Stacks!